ScienCon 2022 Journal by sciencon

Foreword by Chair OC The idea of ScienCon 2022 was born at 2 am when I walked through the restless streets of Rome. I was in the middle of an event organised by the International Association of Physics Students and came back to our hostel with other students I met there. There were four of us - from Greece, Poland, Australia and Indonesia talking about history, politics and culture - breathing deeply the atmosphere of the Eternal City and living to our fullest. Then I knew - I want an event like that to happen in Poland as well. Those moments of connection are what will stay with me after the equations fade from my memory and I sincerely believe that those soft ties interconnecting the scientific community help to make it go forward. The visit to Rome became a memory. The pandemic stifled all student activities, but I still yearned to show off Poland to the international community and help the new batch of students create memories like that. It took another set of four people - this time from Wrocław, Warsaw, Kielce and Toruń - and later on dozens of dedicated volunteers to make this idea a reality. We planned knowing that the pandemic could thwart all of our plans and faced a steep learning curve of negotiating agreements, inviting professionals to collaborate and marketing our little endeavour. Then the Russian invasion of Ukraine shocked all of us, once again changing our plans. Yet in the end we got what we wanted - four days of physics students and professionals coming together to discuss the future in the magical setting of the snowy Holy Cross mountains! It would be all for nothing if not for all of our dedicated guests, participants and volunteers who braved the uncertainty and decided to make the journey to meet us at ScienCon 2022 - for which we are extremely grateful. Together we made four days full of international, scientific, peaceful collaboration - full of snow, lectures and laughter. There were brilliant ideas, new perspectives and discussions - as well as mishaps and honest mistakes, but most importantly there was p!enty of memories made. All the best, Joanna Szulc, Chair OC

What was ScienCon 2022?

ScienCon 2022 was the very first edition of a unique, 4-day long event during which physics students from Poland and abroad had the time, space and support to plan their future scientific career. All with the help of mentors from the best Polish universities and companies. The event was organised by the Polish Association of Physics Students under the flag of the International Association of Physics Students and, thanks to the generous support from the Polish Ministry of Education and Science. The main part of the event was a 24h long marathon of planning master’s and PhD theses focused on solving one of the three challenges critical to modern society. Rest of the time was filled to the brim with cultural trips, guest lectures and networking. Participants entered the Marathon as small teams, with a specific challenge set before them. The goal of each team was to create a hypothetical career plan for all team members. 2

We chose three key challenges: • Dark Side of the Digitalisation – covering subjects like sociophysics, econophysics, quantum cryptography and cases in which physics tools are used to predict sociological behaviours, changes in economy or in which physics discoveries influence the cybersecurity issues. • Ad Astra – space exploration through the lenses of physics, including creating materials and detectors for space missions, astronomical and astrophysical observations and simulations, creation and analysis of satellite imagery or new technologies needed for space exploration. • End is Nigh - all subjects pertaining to developing a sustainable future with the help of physics research such as new energy sources, renewable energy sources, hydrogen-based technologies, materials and technologies allowing us to use resources more efficiently, ways to observe, simulate and predict climate changes, etc. In the end, we hosted 10 mentors, 2 guest lecturers, and 33 participants in the European Centre for Geological Education near Chęciny. To make sure that our event ran smoothly, a team of organisers, volunteers and guests was available to our mentors and participants throughout the entire event.

Photo relation of the event

31.03.2022 We kicked off ScienCon 2022 with an official inauguration at the Faculty of Physics, University of Warsaw. Pro-rector of the University of Warsaw - prof. dr hab. Zygmunt Lalak welcomed the participants to the event. A welcoming letter from the dean of the Faculty of Fundamental Problems of Technology, Wrocław University of Science and Technology was read, and the time came for the first guest lecture. Prof. dr hab. Szymon Malinowski - an outstanding Polish atmospheric physicist and communicator of science - gave us a great lecture on the climate crisis and the science behind it entitled “Planetary crisis: climate and biodiversity”. Afterwards we travelled to the European Centre for Geological Education, near Chęciny, to be surprised by the sight of the snowy mountain landscape in the middle of spring.

01.04.2022 After our guest had to withdraw from the planned lecture because of personal reasons, we set off the day with an improvised lecture by dr Piotr Nyczka from the Wrocław University of Science and Technology. We spent the rest of the morning on trips to the nearby castle (the Royal Castle in Chęciny) and around the geological laboratories of the Centre (kindly provided by dr eng. Tomasz Łątka). We believe that both culture and fresh air are important parts of the equation for a well-rounded physicist.

Last, but most definitely not least, prof. dr hab. Tomasz Bulik from the Astronomical Observatory of the University of Warsaw gave the talk about “How to measure and weigh merging black holes?” The lecture of professor Bulik was the last introductory lecture and at 4 pm sharp we started the Marathon.

We guided the teams to their working spaces, and the brainstorming began! That was the most important part of the event - but also the hardest one to summarise, as most of the work was done between the participants and mentors. You can read all about our guests further in this journal!

02.04.2022 The Saturday morning greeted many students already hard at work, while the organising committee hurried up to prepare everything for the grand finale. When the time was up for the 24 hour marathon of work, we gathered everyone in the lecture hall for the final presentations! Nine teams presented their hard work and you can read more about their plans and projects in the further parts of this journal. Once the Jury decided on the winners, all the awards, thanks and photo shoots were done, it was finally time for everyone to relax. While “Zajazd pod Srebrną Górą” provided a sumptuous Polish banquet in the canteen, we started a merry bonfire, laughing in the face of snow and sub-zero temperatures. The cherry on top of the celebration was a live concert given by the “Hudacy z Czeremska” folk band.

03.03.2022 Sunday was a day of farewells, but for those who stayed with us longer, we still had some aces up our sleeve. After arriving back in Warsaw, we took a guided tour from the Palace of Culture and Science to the Museum of History of Polish Jews “Polin” to cap the entire event with a portion of history.

Guest lectures

Prof. dr hab. Tomasz Bulik – is a professor at the Astronomical Observatory at the University of Warsaw and at IRAP Astrocent. During his career he had worked on subjects in theoretical astrophysics, such as investigations of X-ray binaries, physics of strong magnetic fields, the origin of gamma-ray bursts, structure and properties of neutron stars. He has started the work on binary population synthesis, a topic that led to interest in gravitational wave astrophysics. The effort was done in collaboration with his former student and now a coworker prof. Belczyński made a prediction that the most prominent sources of gravitational waves are binary black holes, which has been recently confirmed by LIGO. He is a member of the VIRGO collaboration and he has taken part in the discoveries of gravitational wave sources. Tomasz Bulik was the leader of the site search and characterisation campaign for CTA. He is also involved in preparing the next generation gravitational wave observatory – the Einstein Telescope. Currently, he is working on properties of binary gravitational wave sources and also on reduction of low frequency noise in the VIRGO detector. He is a member of the Einstein Telescope steering committee. Prof. dr hab. Szymon Malinowski – an outstanding Polish atmospheric physicist and communicator of science. A graduate of the Faculty of Physics at the University of Warsaw. Associated with the Department of Atmospheric Physics, Institute of Geophysics, University of Warsaw. In the years 2002 – 2012, he was the manager of this department. From 2016, director of the Institute of Geophysics at the University of Warsaw. Member of the Geophysics Committee of the Polish Academy of Sciences. From 2020, chair of the climate change team by the president of the Polish Academy of Sciences. Co-founder and editor of the popular science internet portal “Nauka o Klimacie”, one of the most reliable sources on climate change. He is also the protagonist of Jonathan L. Ramsey’s documentary “It’s Ok To Panic”. A frequent guest on television and radio programs, in which he explains the physical foundations of our knowledge about the climate. Author of numerous publications in the field of atmospheric physics. 6

Mentors

Dr hab. Grzegorz Brona, defended his PhD thesis in 2007 at the Faculty of Physics of the University of Warsaw, dissertation in high energy physics. He is a co-author of several hundred scientific articles published in scientific journals such as “Physical Review Letters”, “Nuclear Instruments and Methods” and “Nature”. From 2009 to 2011, he worked at the CERN. He became a co-founder (2012), vice-president and president of the management board of Creotech Instruments S.A. the largest Polish company operating in the space industry. From 2015 to 2018, he sat on the Council of the Polish Space Agency. On March 12, 2018, the Prime Minister appointed him the president of this institution. He has completed negotiations related to the accession of Poland to the international EUSST consortium and to the European space robotics cluster PERASPERA. Thanks to his leadership, the Polish Space Agency ascended to the International Space Exploration Coordination Group and the International Astronautical Federation. He also proposed the National Space Program. His efforts led to legislative changes facilitating the testing of Polish suborbital rockets. He signed agreements between the Polish Space Agency, the Israel Space Agency (ISA) and the Romanian Space Agency (ROSA). Currently, he is again the president of Creotech Instruments S.A. Dr Anna Chrobry has followed closely in the footsteps of her inspiration, prof. Skłodowska-Curie, and has become an experimental physicist. As she has a rocket fuel for blood, she has followed her passion for space and now she is employed in the German Space City (Bremen). She strongly believes that joining forces across Europe is crucial for the space sector to continue to grow, especially between old players like Germany and upcoming players such as Poland. As with the Latin expression “spiritus movens”, she is currently using her energy to start and establish an interdisciplinary Poland and German International Double Degree Master Study Program Engineering and Management of Space Systems (EMSS). She is ‘Chief Trouble Maker’, whose personal mission it is to showcase balanced evidence of the female contribution to STEM. She is a founder and executive coordinator of a social media action, “100 inspiring physicists”. For her achievements, dr Chrobry has been recognised as an 7 inspirational physicist by the German Physical Association.

Dr Mario Alejandro Mejía Escobar - Materials Engineer and Ph.D. in Engineering, currently Materials Scientist at Saule Technologies. A passionate researcher and scientist with 14 years of experience in Materials Science, specifically metals, polymers, ceramics, and composites, focused on nanotechnology and solar cells. A product and materials development engineer oriented to large-scale processing from laboratory to industry in Latin America and Europe. He has a large experience working in cleanrooms, project writing, teaching, and is an active member of the Entrepreneur and Leader of Innovation program by the Royal Academy of Engineering, UK. Apart from his passion for science, he loves bikes and he is an amateur and experienced road biker. Dr hab. Łukasz Gondek - Experimental physicist, currently head of the Department of Solid State Physics at Faculty of Physics and Applied Computer Science (AGH Kraków). In 2021, a member of workgroups developing the Polish Hydrogen Strategy until 2030 with an outlook until 2040. From 2012 to 2018, selected to the Scientific Committee of the Berlin Neutron Scattering Centre. Broad international collaboration, mainly with research groups from Germany, Japan, and Sweden. Expert in the fields of magnetism, crystallography, nanotechnology, and hydrogen storage (over 100 publications). Supervisor of various successful students’ projects – including the first polish hydrogen-powered boat. In recent years, he teaches quite nontypical courses (as for physicists), namely ‘Organization and funding of research’, where he shares his experience related to planning the scientific career. Apart from science, he is addicted to music, particularly heavy and dark genres of metal. Together with colleagues from the faculty, he performs (guitars) during the lectures from ‘Physics of sound’. Dr Tomasz Gubiec scientific interests lie with physics of complex systems, specifically in how they can be applied in economy (stochastic processes, stock market crashes), social systems (dissemination of opinions, cultures and languages) and systematic risks (stability of banking system). He was awarded the Fulbright grant and the grant of the Foundation for Polish Science. Currently, he is a supervisor of “Physics Methods for Economy” specialisation in the Faculty of Physics, University of Warsaw. In this role, he promoted many successful students, including supervising the PhD thesis, which was awarded by the Polish Physical Society in 2021. Dr Eng. Katarzyna Gwóźdź works in the Department of Quantum Technologies at the Wrocław University of Science and Technology, where she leads research on new materials for photovoltaics, electronics, and optoelectronics. Her main scientific interests include analysing defects in semiconductors using electrical methods, studying plasmonic effects in photovoltaics, and uses of pyro- and ferroelectric materials in photocells. In 2020, she defended her PhD thesis “Optymalizacja ogniw fotowoltaicznych ZnO-Si” (ang. “Optimisation of ZnO-Si photocells”). The results of her research are published in prestigious journals, such as Nano Energy and Applied Physics Letters. As part of the DAAD programme, she spent over a year at TU Dresden. She actively supports young scientists by participating in the Council of Young Scientists and supervising scientific projects of students at the Faculty of the Fundamental Problems of Technology. 8

Mrs Patrycja Karwowska graduated from the Warsaw University of Technology in 2017, with a Bachelor of Science in Engineering in Applied Physics (Specialisation: Materials and Nanostructures) and a Master of Science in Engineering in Applied Physics (Specialisation: Ecological Energy Sources). She graduated also with many courses in space technology, e.g. Aerospace Information Technology at the Julius Maximilians University in Wurzburg and Introducing to Space for Engineers – phase A/B. Since 2016, she is the Polish Space Agency (POLSA) employee. Her specialisation is in space exploration and technology harmonisation for the space market. She is interested in astrophysics and Intellectual Property Rights in space areas. She is an advisor to European Space Agency (ESA) decision bodies for the exploration and utilisation of space, POLSA representative in the International Space Exploration Coordination Group (ISECG) and International Mars Exploration Working Group. Konrad Klepacki - led high-tech projects, from solutions for digital television, through unmanned water vehicles all the way to building a pharmaceutical factory from the ground up. Using the TRIZ method, he takes part (and sometimes even wins) in innovation competitions. The last contest looked for new solutions for navigation systems of the US Air Force Space Command satellites. In recent years, he focused on issues connected to the climate crisis. He works on a way to significantly reduce the carbon footprint of cities and the energy industry. He realised the first in Europe complete, 3D thermal scan of tens of thousands city buildings. Dr Piotr Nyczka - Earned his PhD in physics at the University Wrocław. Then worked for a few years as a postdoc in the systems biology group at Jacobs University Bremen. Just recently moved back to Poland to continue research at the Wrocław University of Science and Technology. He is constantly amazed, by observation, how physics and mathematics can come and work together to describe phenomena commonly thought of as non related to these disciplines. He is interested in physics of complex systems, with a special focus on the social and biological ones. Complex networks are his weapon of choice. Eng. Justyna Pelc - is an engineer and leader of the Innspace group. Innspace is an interdisciplinary team, realising space-related projects such as space bases and vehicles designs. They won the Student Aerospace Challenge, had a 5th place at Mars Colony Prize, gained Gold Winner and Winner title for two of their projects at Future Mars Life Competition, and more. Justyna is also a member of the board of the Polish Astrobiology Society, responsible for webinars, events and PTAstrobio’s YT channel. She is cooperating with other space associations as well. Justyna is a member of the Advisory Board of Mars Society South Asia and a judge during space and robotics competitions organised by this organisation. She is a National Contact Point for Poland in the Space Generation Advisory Council. She was awarded the title of “Rising Star of the Polish Space Industry” in the Constellations 2020 contest, intended to honour companies and people for the development of the Polish space sector. 9

Music

“Hudacy z Czeremska” (eng. “Musicians from Cheremsk”) is a young ethnic music band, put together from passionate hobbyists. Their love for the traditional tunes brought them together. Now they play music of mostly Ukrainian origin, but also Polish, Lemkos, and Hutsuls. In their repertoire you can find tunes from Hungary, France and Breton as well. The band is a frequent guest at various folk and ethnic events. They wish for folk and ethnic music to live on, so that it can be known, loved and played by other young people. They want to develop their own passion for music and share it with others. Broaden the cultural horizons and have fun while doing so. During their concerts, “Hudacy z Czeremska” use traditional instruments to recreate the true soul of the music they play. In the future, they hope to broaden their repertoire and expand their opportunities. Fanpage: https://www.facebook.com/Hudacy-z-Czeremska-102143885599753

Winners

• Dark Side of the Digitalisation - ΩΨΧ - Jan Lange, Cihad Gözsüz, Katarzyna Kasprzak, David Pérez González - Neural Networks in improving working conditions The work environment can have a drastic effect on the employees’ wellbeing and mental health. Nowadays, there is more and more talk about how a toxic work environment can cause a decrease in motivation and productivity, leading to stress, anxiety and burnout. This influences both the wellbeing of the employee and the chance of success for the company. The ΩΨΧ team tackled this social problem by implementing a system that could give the employer personalised recommendations on how to improve the general happiness of their employees. The proposed system would gather both psychological and external data and suggest certain approaches, like increasing salary, allowing remote work, changing office temperature, noise level, etc. To cover most of the skills needed to implement such a system ,the team proposed a diverse set of career paths. Cihad would switch from physics to psychology, both to fulfil his personal 10

preference and to weigh in on the future project. Kasia would focus on the practical aspects of starting a start-up - taking postgraduate training in IT project management and marketing. Jan would carry on to a data science master’s degree and later to a pPD in this field ,as the project is heavily reliant on neural networks. Considering the data privacy and ethics issues that would naturally arise with a system that includes gathering data on employees ,David would continue his studies at master’s degree in cyber-security and further develop his skills working for a consulting firm. The SWOT analysis visible below highlights the chief strengths and weaknesses of the project.

• Ad Astra - ΔΓ - Jakub Szyndler, Natalia Sławek, Alexandra Karina Gheorghe Large area spectroscopic measurements to identify locations of materials needed to build infrastructure on Mars One of the biggest challenges of space exploration is, and always was, how expensive it is to bring every kilogram into space. Currently, only limited resources can be brought from Earth to Mars by a spaceship which constricts all plans of building infrastructure there. The solution proposed by the ΔΓ team is to acquire the resources directly on Mars. While many people pondered this solution before, what is unique to the team’s efforts is suggesting a physics related and very specific solution - creating a device able to make large area spectroscopic measurements. That would allow them to quickly and cheaply identify locations of materials needed for construction. This way, the bases could be planned in regions that contain required materials for construction. The additional challenges are that Mars rovers have low speed because of the limits of energy consumption and that they have to either work automatically or be further delayed by waiting for communication with Earth. To tackle all those challenges, the team planned three very different career paths. One would be a path of a physicist specialising in spectroscopy and the development of new measuring devices. It would start with an internship at European Space Agency, continue in contact with society for applied spectroscopy to remain in contact with other specialists in the field 11

while doing a PhD in Applied Physics Laboratory at Johns Hopkins University where they would connect and learn with scientists who are already working on spectroscopic systems for Mars missions. After the PhD, the physicist that took that path would be ready to join NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory to work on the development of new spectroscopic devices for Mars missions. Second path would lead the student to become an Artificial Intelligence specialist to improve the autonomy of the rover and make it less reliant on delayed communiques from Earth. That path would start with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Computer Science and Robotics at MIT. After the studies, the student would go on to the internship at INTEL and AIKO to gain practical experience from the industry. This could lead to a joint, industry related PhD research to find new solutions to the problem of command chain. After gathering proper experience and knowledge, the student could join NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory to work on the Mars rover. The third path would take the student through Nuclear Physics studies to develop a nuclear battery for the rover. After finishing bachelor’s degree and an internship at the International Institute of Nuclear Physics, the student could go on to a master’s degree at the University of Houston where a group of scientists is currently working on developing a nuclear battery. The work with the group could continue into a fruitful PhD at the same university. After the PhD, the student could join their colleagues at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory to implement the newly developed nuclear battery into the rover. • End is Nigh - ΙΘΗ - Justyna Krystecka, Maurice Rieger, Joanna Buczkowska Fundamental improvement of separation and bio-recycling It so happens that often a solution to one problem generates other problems. That is unfortunately the case with the solar panels and batteries. While both technologies are absolutely vital to tackling the climate crisis and moving towards a sustainable future, they both generate large amounts of hard to dispose and potentially toxic waste. That’s why new bio-recycling techniques are sorely needed. Currently, most of the waste recycling is based on mechanical or chemical separation of the materials. What the ΙΘΗ team propose as the solution is to focus on techniques based on bacteria - which can separate the waste material in a series of metabolic processes with precision impossible with only mechanical processes. To follow through on this subject, Justyna would like to continue her studies in Biomedical Engineering at the Wrocław University of Science and Technology and apply for an internship in R&D department of the Wojewódzki Szpital Specjalistyczny in Wrocław. During the internship, she would develop her knowledge of modification and research on bacteria. Then she would start working for SungEel HiTech company to gain further industrial experience in the biomedical field. Maurice would finish his Bachelor at the University of Heidelberg specialising in physics and chemistry and continue at the University of Radboud with master’s in physical chemistry. 12

Then he would look for an internship in industry, in organic chemistry. In the meantime, Joanna would finish her master’s degree in biophysics at the University of Warsaw and start PhD studies at Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology in a group researching bacteria metabolism. After that, she would focus on laboratory work and getting an MBA to develop her business and soft skills. Those three careers would come together in a start-up called Solar killers. The various experiences of the team members would provide plenty of contacts with institutes and research centres in improving the bio-recycling process and business skills needed to start a company and industrial experience to scale up the process invented in the laboratory setting. The team recognises the need to search for funding and partners.